Thursday, June 05, 2008

In between the tornado warnings and mopping up the storm water from my basement, yesterday I started watching Haseena Maan Jayegi and can hardly believe my good fortune. While nothing so far is quite at the "Kehne Ki Nahin Baat" level of superwow, "Suno Suno,""Oh Dilbar Janye," and "Dilbar Dilbar Kehte" are all really dang close. For example, so fab is this last one that Shashi has a dance-off against himself. Have you ever heard of anything so fantastic? These, plus the movie's really cool animated opening credits, have all happened within the first fifty minutes - it's fast and furiously fab, a parade of Shashi-shimmying, head-wobbling, twisting, white convertibles, and babe-alicious sassy Babita and her slew of super outfits.

I hesitate to ask, in case the answer is "no": are there more Shashi movies like this? It seems greedy to ask for more on top of this and Pyar Kiye Jaa, but equally it seems imperative to get to any others as soon as humanly possible.

To explain the title of the post, this morning I went looking for a video of any of these three songs to send to Filmi Geek to illustrate why I was in such a good mood, but all I got was the cruel lesson that there are far more clips online for the 1999 movie of the same name, which stars Karisma Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, and Govinda.

[dismissive wave] Pffft. [/dismissive wave]

That's an unpleasant surprise, to have your heart set on Shashi but instead get Govinda. Each may be great and beloved in his own way, but interchangeable they are not. (And now I have the giggles imagining Govinda in Junoon and 60s-style Shashi in Partner. Actually, he could probably do it, but the idea of him with Salman is just too funny.) (And now that the idea has come up, anyone who would like to propose a Govinda/Shashi role switcheroo for either humorous or "hmmm"-inducing effect is encouraged to do so.)

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comments:

Saw Govinda and Shashi in the title and wondered what on earth was the matter! On second glance I realised that you were expressing my exact sentiments when I ordered Haseena Maan Jayegi from Eros - they sent me the Govinda version!!! :-(

Switcheroo (is that a Bollywood kangaroo?) - Govinda would fit pretty well in Pyaar Kiye Ja and Shashi would be at home in some of Govinda's 80's movies (in fact he was in some of them!) like Ilzaam and Hathya.

I don't much care for older Govinda stuff, but I love his current comedy avatar. The best Govinda news I have heard in recent months is that he is starring in a remake of "The 40 Year Old Virgin." Yes.

I can't picture Shashi in "Partner" except maybe as the Love Doctor! That would be hilarious!

The Govinda and Sanjay Haseena ... is really a forgetable movie (quite literally, I own it, I watched, and I can't remember a thing about it, even though I like the leads), but this sounds good. It might need to go on my ever-grwoing list of things to buy.

Another Govinda movie Shashi was in is Sindoor; in fact that is more a Shashi movie Govinda happens to be in. It is quite a nice movie featuring middle aged romance though some of ideas about how widows should behave really put my back up

u kno, i think Shashi would ROCK govinda's role in salaam-e-ishq. I really do beleive so :)Conversely, if govinda did "jab jab phool khile,"- he may make that clunker idiotic instead of the monstrosity it is, and thus render it somewhat watchable.

Bollyviewer - :) That is tragic! Boooooo! I hope you returned it! Thank you for the 60s list - I'm tempted to buy them all right now (or as soon as the next Nehaflix 10% coupon comes). As for Govinda in PKJ, I love Shashi in it so much that I'm blind to someone I dislike even being considered, but that's my own fault. I can imagine him dancing the hell out of that song, though, and being fantastic.

Filmi Girl - I can see that working, actually. I thought he was really quite good in Partner, both in his own way and in recreating the character as Kevin James (of whom i am no fan in general but thought was good in Hitch) did it. Shashi as Love Doctor = gooood.

Gebruss - That is FUNNY. And a deadly review, too! :) You most definitely get this one - I haven't gotten beyond these first 50 minutes yet but am still confident enough that they alone are worth the purchase price (and also think the following minutes will be pretty great too). Sindoor sounds good - but yeah, I can see the treatment of widows going horribly wrong.

Shweta - Very interesting! I tell you this: if I ever go to India again and decide I need to go swear up and down at the ladka who vanished and broke my heart, I would be very grateful for either Govinda or Shashi as a partner in that venture. Excellent call on Jab Jab Phool Khile - vile, vile, awful thing. (My hatred for that movie grows and grows the further I am from actually having watched it.)

Ajnabi - YES. Video protest! Love it! I don't know what the opposite of "zindabad" is, but clearly we will have big signs that say that.

PPCC - Really? I'm trying to figure out what clip(s) to send you...frankly I am so baffled by his appeal that I tend to avoid him most of the time and therefore am not sure what quintessential Chichi might be. Like a few other people, I think it is unfortunate that he was popular when he was - not the finest era for Hindi films. Also he was often with Karisma, whom I don't like. Wikipedia tells me he has been in 17 David Dhawan movies - is that possible? Wow.

So here's one from Love 86, which is a ridiculous movie http://youtube.com/watch?v=8AdfsChqO0A. His entrance in the film is really quite awesome, dance-wise, but I couldn't find it. And he is definitely very endearing in Salaam-e-Ishq. But everything else I've seen him in is AVOID YAAR for sure, though he is not the only component of them that I find awful. It might also be an issue of cultural disconnect re: comedy, too. His appeal mystifies me.

Banno - That is a good one! I really love Sharmila, and the roller skating makes everything that much better. However, I usually can't make it past the "wait, did he rape her? wasn't she unconscious? or did she miraculously recover really fast from a major medical problem and then agreed to sleep with a guy she hardly knew?" thing. That movie stomps all over my powers of suspension of disbelief.

Gebruss - Ha! I still haven't seen that one, but I can imagine. And no, it's hard to believe DD movies were watchable, but you and I have talked about movies enough that I trust you.

I just saw Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati (and wrote about it)...you would like it I think, although it's no Pyar Kiye Jaa (but then, what is?). It IS completely insane, though, and Babita has a slew of super outfits there too (and hair!).

my other filmi projects

Bong Along - a blog on vintage Bengali movies co-written by Indie Quill and me (and perhaps a few very friendly appearances by other friends as well).

Masala Zindabad - the podcast by Indie Quill and me, often featuring other writers and fans as guests. Masala Zindabad is an affectionate and thoughtful look at the broad range of themes that define Bollywood and make Bollywood defy definition. Available at iTunes.

Mysterious Order of the Skeleton Suit - the Agents of M.O.S.S. are a shadowy confederation of like-minded writers, broadcasters, creators, and jetsetters who have banded together in a bold mission to bring international intrigue and pop entertainment to the masses. Can anyone stand in the way of their diabolical schemes?

pragmatics

Text (c) 2005–2014, Beth Watkins. The ideas and opinions expressed in this site are mine alone unless otherwise attributed. They do not necessarily represent the views of my employer or of any other organization or website with which I may be associated.